Sound Transit now owns most of what is referred to as the Praire line, now the Lakeview Sub. I can't verify the first couple of miles north of Nisqually, but after that it's all Sound Transit's. The funding is in place and the upgrade to the line is going to happen, like it or not (I'm on the 'not' side).

The re-routing of freights, whether it be Tacoma Rail (the one that makes the most sense) or the BNSF/UP traffic can't happen, mainly because no trackage rights have been granted over the half mile of new line between M st and Freight house square (D st). Of course that may change, but it's not in the public debate phase yet.

Somewhere in WSDOT's public disclosure is the statement that all passenger trains will use this line, including the Starlight. As George said, wouldn't make any sense (except in Government land) to keep both stations open.

I'm also skeptical about the 10 minutes in time savings and the connection to increased trains. I'd bet that the connection is that the only way BNSF was going to allow more Cascades is if they all moved off the Pt. Defiance portion of the Seattle sub. I also wonder how much of the 10 minutes will go away, after the carnage at the grade crossings begin and demand for slower train speeds ensues. I think Lakewood still has a lawsuit pending regarding the re-routing of passenger trains through it's city.